Frullania pinnata spec. nov (Frullaniaceae, Porellales), a new leafy liverwort in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from Myanmar

Heinrichs, Jochen; Feldberg, Kathrin; Müller, Patrick; Schäfer-Verwimp, Alfons; Konrat, Matt von; Ilsemann, Bork and Krings, Michael (2017): Frullania pinnata spec. nov (Frullaniaceae, Porellales), a new leafy liverwort in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber from Myanmar. In: Cretaceous Research, Vol. 78: pp. 56-60

Abstract

An inclusion in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar is described as a new fossil species in the extant liverwort genus Frullania. The name Frullania pinnata is proposed for the taxon that is characterized by entire underleaves paired with a conspicuous pinnate branching pattern, two distinctive and stable morphological features. Entire underleaves are known in several extant Frullania species but had not previously been documented in Frullania in amber. The combination of morphological characters in this new fossil species is unknown in any crown group lineage of Frullania, and may very well represent a stem lineage element of the genus. This discovery is important because it expands our understanding of the diversity of Frullaniaceae in the Burmese amber forest as well as important ramifications for the phylogenetic reconstruction of extant Frullania lineages.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Biology > Department Biology I
• Research Centers: GeoBio-Center
• Subjects: 500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology; 500 Science > 500 Science
• ISSN: 0195-6671
• Language: English